2009-09-01

When he was with the Bulls, the team tried to find a way for Rodman to short-circuit his impulse to rail at any referee who made what he believed to be an unjust call. So they had him place a thick rubber band tightly around his left wrist with orders to sharply snap the band whenever he felt like yapping at a ref. The idea being that the flash of pain would derail his latest impulse. The tactic worked for a while, then to the staff's amazement Rodman took to continually snapping the rubber band even when he had no immediate beef with the refs.

Jordan was enthusiastic, though he’d later admit he rarely, if ever, spoke with Rodman those three seasons because it was so difficult to get Rodman’s attention. I used to get letters from a southern Illinois educator who said Rodman was a classic case of undiagnosed and untreated Attention Deficit Disorder.

Jordan would later say when he had to make a point to Rodman he’d grab him by both temples and demand Rodman look him in the eye and then ask him several times if he understood what Jordan was saying and to repeat if he did.